Thebeauty of fishing canals is that you never truly know what is lurking beneath the surface, while many joke it's just trollies and traffic cones, these mysterious waterways are home to some truly spectacular fish as Mark Hook found out during his latest session.
Fishing with his stepdad Steve Munday, the pair were targeting the bream on their local Gloucester Canal as the usually do, but as the fishing was particularly slow, Mark thought there could be a big predator in the swim, and he was right as he went on to land this truly enormous zander.
"Steve and I were bream fishing, as we normally do on the Gloucester Canal, using cage feeder tactics with groundbait," Mark told us.
"On the stretch we usually fish, it can take a while for the bream to start feeding, but on this occasion, the fishing was particularly slow, so I told my stepdad I was going to get the zander rod out of my bag."
"I always take this rod with me when we go to the Gloucester, as it's full of these cracking predators, and they are great fun to catch," he added.
"Tactics were simple: I opted for a running ledger rig on my trusty 12ft Chub Outcast rod, using a small roach as deadbait."
"One thing I do use is a large, single circle hook instead of trebles. Not only do they prevent deep hooking, but I also feel I get much better hook holds using them. I really don't feel it is necessary to use six hook to catch one fish," he explained.
Mark cast the rod into the area where they had been fishing for bream, and his rod had barely touched the bite alarm before he had a savage take. He let out a bit of line before striking into the fish.
"I usually catch zander around the 6lb mark, but this felt much heavier. I thought it could have been a big pike, judging by the weight behind it."
"After a fairly subdued fight, the fish popped up on the surface, and we both went into shock. It was an absolutely massive zander, and we couldn't believe our eyes," Mark recalled.
"The weather was particularly warm that day, and I don’t like to keep fish out of the water for long, so I took a quick snap and revived the fish before she swam away strongly."
"I didn't weigh the fish, but it was significantly bigger than my previous PB of 11lb. I’d estimate it was somewhere around 15lb, though many have said it looks much bigger. Either way, I’m just glad to have seen such a great fish on the bank," he concluded.
IF THE FISHING IS SLOW, YOU CAN STAY COMFORTABLE WITH ONE OF THE BEST FISHING CHAIRS.
